Wire-fence.



J. S. BARNES.

WIRE FENCE.

APPLICATION .FILED ov. 11, 1912.

1 fi fifi m'h I Patented June 18, 1918.

' WITNESSES: l/VVE/VTOI? M n M it Mm A rrok/vsr Jenn s. Banivns, oramon; ivrronreaiv;

WIRE FENGE.

acavva.

Specification of LettersPatent. P te t d June in, 191e,.

Application filed November 11, 1912. Serial No. 730,541.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that 1, JOHN S. BARNES, citizen of. the United States,residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement in Wire Fences, and declare the"following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, suchas will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to makeand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,which form a part of this specification. v

My invention relates to an improvement in wire fences, adapted for lawnor lot divi- Sion purposes, in which wire pickets are supported betweentwisted strands forming lateral cables, as shown in the accompanyingdrawings and more particularly set forth in the following specificationand claims.

In the manufacture of wire fence of the character indicated it has beencustomary to alternate the pickets extending from top to bottom of thefence with pickets of shorter length below in order to provide arelatively narrower mesh at the bottom of the fence. .-The strandsforming the lateral cables by which the long pickets are supported aregiven a reverse twist between each picket, one object being to avoidsnarling the Wire fed from the reels. Heretofore in inserting theindependent short pickets it has been necessary to stop the machinemidway between the large pickets in order to insert and properly adjustthe smaller pickets, the twist given to the strands of the cables oneach side of the smaller pickets, however, being in the same directionas that between the large pickets directly above," it being obvious thatthe lower strands could not be reversed on each side of the smallerpickets while the strands connecting the large pickets above weretwisted in one direction only as it would result in twisting the picketsor other distortion of the fabric. The stopping and extra handling of.the short and long pickets necessarily involves time and labor,therefore one of the objects of the present invention is to provide apicket in which a short and long picket are integral, thereby avoidingthe separate handling of small pickets and thus reducing the labor andtime required in which to construct a given length of fence.

Another feature of the invention is to construct the lower end of theseveral pickets with a return bend spaced from the body portionv andpreferably parallel therewith, the spaced members of the picket beingloopedor indented toward each other at the intersection of the lateralcables at which point they are held between the twisted strands of thelatter,-thepurpose being to provide a fence fabric inwhich the lowermeshes are narrower than. those above, the loops, being "of a characterthat cannot be readily bent outof shape.

Another object of my invention is to provide picket having an upperlooped end designed to overlap the looped ends of the adjacent pickets,the end'ofthe looped portion being in contiguous relation to thebodyportion of the alternate picket at which point they are secured togetherby the twisted strands of the lateral cables; the overlapping loopedends serving to mutually support each. other against separation orinjury by the act of maliciously inclined persons. p

A further object is to provide against the rotation of the picket upon,its own axis in the loops formed by the twisted strands of the lateralcables, by spacing the parallel members of the lower return bend asufficient distance apart to provide an extended bearing surface betweenthe loops to insure against this contingency. j

()ther advantages and improvements will hereafter: appear. a In thedrawings specification z- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a section offence,

Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of one of the pickets engaged by thelateral cables.

Referring now to the letters of reference placed upon the .drawings:

indicates lateral cables formed of strands-of wire (no, twistedtogether. B, B, denote wire pickets engaged between the strands of thelateral cables A,the pickets being preferably formed of crimped wire toinsure against displacement with respect to the cables and to providefor expansion and contraction of the Wire.

The pickets at their upper end are formed with an arched portion Binterlacing at b, b, with the arched portions of the adjacent pickets oneach side thereof, the end 6 of accompanying this the picket lyingcontiguous to an alternate picket to which it is bound by theoverlapping strands a, a, of the lateral cables A. The lower end of thepickets B are provided with a return bend portion B extendingupwardly toa point approximating the middle of the fence, the end 6 of the loopedportion being brought into contiguous relation to the body portion of,the picket where it is engaged by the looped strands of one of theintersecting cables A. At the several points of intersection with thelateral cables the spaced members of the returnbend portion are indentedor bent toward each other as indicated at 6 forming a relatively narrowneck around which the strands a ofthe lateral cables are looped. At thepoint ofengagement with the lower or selvage edge the return bendportion, B 'is spaced somewhat farther apart than indicated at b -at theother points of intersectionwith the lateral cables, the lower spacedloop of the return bend forming a relatively broad-engaging surfaceagainst which the strands of the lower lateralcable bears,the objectbeing to provide. against the rotation of: the picket within the loopedportion ofthe lateral cable, as shown in Fig; 2 the lower-end of eachstay being deflected slightly, thereby preventingany up or down;movement of the picket with respect to the cables.

While the return bend and body portion adjacent-thereto may be given anydesired configuration, that shown in the drawingis preferred for thereason that the members are not easily'bent out of shape which wouldtend to mar the appearance of the fence. The form shown gives to thelower section of the fence a uniform appearance, the open ings being ofa like size and pleasing character throughout.

Having thus 1 described my what I claim is 1. In a wire fence, aplurality of-lateral Wires, aplurality of separate. independent picketsengaged to said lateral wires, each picket including a body portion andaturned back portion whose upper extremity terminates substantiallymidway between the upperandlower ends of the body portions of thepickets, the turned back portion andthe respective body portion ofeachpicket being directed toward each other at" the points of intersectionwith said lateral wires.

2. In a wire fence, a plurality of'lateral wires, a pluralityof'separate independent pickets connected'to said'lateral'wire s, eachpicket including a body portion and a turned backportion, the turnedback portion having its upper extremity terminating substantially midwaybetween the upper and lower ends of the body portions of the pickets,one of saidela'teral wires holding the upper, extremities of "theturnedback-"portions in ,engagement with the body portions of the respective pickets, the, turned back portion and the respectivebodyportion of each invention,

picket, below the lateral wire which holds the upper extremities of theturned back portion and body portions of the pickets, being directedtoward each other at the points of intersection with the lowermostlateral wires.

3. In a. wire fence, a plurality of lateral cables composed of strandsof wire twisted together, a plurality of independent pickets severallysupported between the strands of the cables, the upper end of eachpicket having an arched portion interlacing with the arched portion ofthe adjacent picket on each side thereof, the end of said arched portionbeing in contiguous relation with the body portion of an alternatepicket and engagedtherewith by looped strands of the lateral cables, thelower end of each of said pickets being formed with a return bend spacedfrom the body portion, the return bend portion being also engagedbetween the strands ofthe lateral cables.

4L. In a wire fence, a plurality of lateral cables formed of wirestrands twisted together, a plurality of pickets engaged b tween thestrands of the cables, said pickets formed with an arched topinterlacing with the archedtops of the adjacent pickets, the endoftheseveral arched tops being brought into contiguous relation with the bodyportion of alternate pickets and secured in said position by the strandsof the lateral cables, the lower end of saidpickets being provided witha return bend portion spaced from the bodyportion of the respectivepickets, said return bendbeing of substantially the same formation asthat of the body portion, the return bend and body portion beingprovided with indentations at the point of intersection with thelateralcables, the strands of said cables being looped aroundsaid'indented portion, the lower end of said'return bendbeing spacedapart at the point of intersection with the lower cable-to provide arelatively-broad fiat surface around which the strands of the cable arelooped.

5. In a wirefence, a plurality of lateral cables formed of wire strandstwisted together, a, plurality of pickets formed of criinped wire havinga lower return bend portion spaced from the body portion andsubstantially parallel therewith, said return bend andbody portionsbeing indented toward each other at the point of intersection with thecable to receive the looped strands of the lateral cables, the upper endofthe respective pickets being formed with an arched top, the ends ofwhich are brought into adjacent relation with the body portion ofalternate pickets and secured between the looped strands of the uppercable.

6. In a. wire structure, a plurality oflateral wires, a plurality ofseparate independent pickets engaged to said lateral wires, each picketincludinga body'portion and a panama turned back portion, the upperextremity of the turned back portion terminating substantially midwaybetween the upper and lower ends of the body portions of the pickets,one of said lateral wires connecting the upper extremities of the turnedback portions with the body portions of the respecti ve pickets, saidturned back portion of each picket, below the lateral wire whichconnects the upper extremities of the turned back portion and bodyportions of the pick ets, being directed toward said body portion at thepoints of intersection with the lowermost lateral wires so that the wirestructure is more closely woven at its lower portion than at its upperportion.

7. In a wire structure, a plurality of twisted lateral wires, aplurality of separate independent pickets connected to said lateralwires, each picket including a body portion and a turned back portion,the turned back portion having its upper extremity terminatingsubstantially midway between the upper and lower ends of the bodyportions of the pickets, one of said lateral wires connecting the upperextremities of the turned back portions in engagement with the bodyportions of the respective pickets, the turned back portion and therespective body portion of each picket, below the said lateral wirewhich connects the upper extremities of the turned back portions and thebody portions of the pickets, being directed toward each other at thepoints of intersection with the lateral wires below the said lateralwire which connects together the upper extremities of the turned backportions and body portions of the pickets so that the structure is moreclosely woven at its lower portion than at its upper portion, the bodyportions of said pickets being arched at their upper ends, one archedportion interlacing with. the arched portion of the adjacent picket oneach side thereof and engaged therewith by the twisted strands of theuppermost lateral wire.

8. A wire fence picket embodying a piece of material turned back uponitself at one end with the body portion opposite the turned back portionand the turned back portion deflected toward and away from each other atintervals, the lower ends of the body portion and turned back portionsbeing spaced and deflected slightly out of the normal plane of thepicket proper.

9. A wire fence picket embodying a piece of material turned back uponitself at one end with the body portion opposite the turned back portionand the turned back portion deflected toward and away from each other atintervals, the body and backturned portions of the picket being crimpedtopics of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe and the lower end of the picket beingdeflected slightly.

10. A wire fabric comprising longitudinal strands and transversemembers, said transverse members being folded onto themselves at one endto form double portions, the double portions of said transverse membershaving deflections at intervals therein in the plane of the fabric, andthe longitudinal strands being attached to the double portions of saidtransverse members intermediate said deflections the remaining ends ofthe said transverse members being secured with advance transversemembers.

11. A wire fabric comprising longitudinal strands and transversemembers, each transverse member comprising a unitary part provided witha double portion at one end, the double portion of each transversemember having a plurality of deflections in the plane of the fabric, andthe longitudinal strands connected to said transverse membersintermediate said deflected portions the other end of said transversemember being turned over and secured with an advance transverse member.

12. A wire fabric comprising longitudinal members and transversemembers, each transverse member comprising a single part doubled at oneend, the members forming the double portion of each transverse memberbeing deflected at intervals in opposite directions in the plane of thefabric, the longitudinal members comprising double strands which embracethe transverse members intermediate said deflected portions, and theembracing strands of the longitudinal members being twisted togetherbetween the transverse members, the other end of the said transversemember being turned over and secured with the second advanced transversemember.

13. A Wire fabric comprising longitudinal twisted strands and transversemembers, each transverse member being folded onto itself at one end toform a double portion, the double portions of the said transversemembers having deflections at intervals forming a mesh effect in theplane of the fabric and a panel effect above the said double portions,the other end of each transverse member being bent over to the secondadvanced transverse member, the said transverse members being secured bythe longitudinal twisted strands.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification in the presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN S. BARNES.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

